Um, pardon me, I have a coupon...

For Christmas, my mother treated my father and my boyfriend each to a version of the "Entertainment Book." Remember it? Celebrated years ago as THE way to wine & dine a significant other, get sports equipment for the kids, or get an oil change at great prices? My mother swore by hers while I was growing up - and good for her, too. I'm sure there were many things we could not have afforded at regular prices, but were lucky enough to experience because of the coupons.

My mother is a bit dejected by this year's offering, however. She says that the conditions under which you can use the coupons have changed quite a bit. Where before you could simply "Buy one entree, and get one of equal or lesser value for half price", you now can only "Receive $5 off of your meal when spending $60 or more." I suppose this is more worrisome because my parents are no longer taking kids in tow when they go to a restaurant, and my boyfriend and I are just two people, so a $60 meal, even with a discount, is often more than we'd spend. This renders many coupons useless.

What about the ones in the book that you can't use? You pay for them all, and you get them all - even if you don't have a car that needs an oil change, or pets that need grooming, or carpeted floors that would require carpet cleaning. If coupons you don't need make up a significant portion of the book, how useful is the book to you?

Additionally, if you can look through the book beforehand, be mindful of expiry dates. A year-long book is great, but if most of the coupons expire before June of the given year, how great a deal is the book, really?

Once I get back home, I'm going to take a good hour at least to sit down with our coupon book and see how much of it we can use. After all these years of watching my family at work, I'm sure I've perfected the signature phrase of, "Um, pardon me, I have a coupon..."

teach yourself - thrifty living by Barty Phillips

I found a book with the above title at Chapters - in the 30% off section, no less. I'll post updates from it if anything of special relevance pops up. So far the most unusual thing has been the author's use of the phrase "brood of young" to describe a human family. You definitely don't see that everyday.

From the introductory chapter - Ten Ways to Save Money Now

1. Drink tap water
2. Take a packed lunch to work (or school!)
3. Redeem all the free vouchers languishing in your purse (or on your desk/kitchen counter)
4. Give up smoking
5. Give up your store cards
6. Walk to work/the station/your bus stop
7. Make use of free daily papers on your way to work
8. Switch off your electrical equipment
9. Lengthen the life of your child's felt pens (or of your own felt pens, I presume. The book says to open the bottom of the pen, put a drop or two of vinegar into the ink tube, and shake the pen in order to revive the colour)
10. Make use of your local library

I have a feeling that the book's author, Barty Phillips, is British. It's as much the word use as the numerical savings being listed in pounds sterling that tipped me off, since certain expressions are more common in British English than in American or Canadian. I believe a 'store card' is something like an HBC Mastercard, since Phillips mentions stores charging interest on such cards while appearing to give cardholders a discount on purchases. As for #4, he makes it sound so easy! Maybe there's a teach yourself - quit smoking book by him as well?

And if only we Winnipeggers could take a subway train from 'the station' into the downtown area! Whatever happened to all that money Katz was given for rapid transit? I've heard rumors it went into fixing potholes, but the potholes seem no more fixed than they ever do seem. And now we've been handed another chunk of change from the federal government. I can only imagine where it will end up being spent.

Tip Blitz!

Clothing on the Cheap -
Last night I hit up the Regent Ave. Value Village with a friend. For about $25 I obtained a genuine leather wallet and two nice shirts. Not bad, I thought to myself, but at about $6-$8 a shirt, Value Village is actually more expensive than today's BootLegger sale at the St. Vital mall. THREE shirts, at a total cost of $6! Guys, they've got plenty of on-sale men's clothing too. Don't forget to ask if there's a discount for students! Yours truly was way too surprised by the crazy deals to ask if any additional discounts were available.


irewards @ Chapters/Indigo -
I finally signed myself up for an irewards card - something I should have done ages ago since I purchase many more books than I'm willing to admit to myself. The start-up cost is $25 for a year, and entitles a member to 40% off all bestsellers, 10% off all books, and 5% off at chapters.indigo.ca (excluding gift cards). I've already saved $6 on my first purchase. Let's see if it's able to pay for itself! (Answer: considering the purchaser, DEFINITELY) If you buy a lot of books, this might be a good idea, as the membership also applies to their online store and they don't offer any special student discounts.


Shaving cream, the efficient way -
Stacia Franz (click the link to experience her truly wonderful and unique view of her experiences in the restaurant industry) lets us in on how to bypass all those costly and sometimes disappointing shaving creams. I've paraphrased her helpful tip below:

You can get the inexpensive President's Choice body lotion from Superstore, or the cheapest lotion in bulk from Costco. The bottle lasts me a year. I use it as shaving cream, mixed with just a little soap. It foams nicely and the foam lasts. Plus it moisturizes your skin, so you can skip a step by not having to moisturize afterwards - a lot faster!

Thanks Stacia!

And finally, one more way to avoid those chemical-heavy solutions -
If you've bought something new and are concerned about it fading, or you've noticed lately that your fuchsia shirt is turning everything else a faint pink, here's an easy fix: soak the offending item for about 1/2 an hour, in cold water mixed with 3/4 cup pickling salt or vinegar. (I find pickling salt to be more effective but I suspect fewer people will have it on hand) This should help the (remaining) dye bond to the fabric. This is also effective if you've hand-dyed fabric and you want to make sure the colour won't run.

Happy Saturday! As always, comment with tips, questions, concerns.